savior of the broken
by patientalien
Summary: Anakin is called upon to deal with the newest threat to the Light. He handles it poorly. Now with proper formatting!


He knows in the end he's only going to make things worse. It's all he's ever done, regardless of his good intentions. It's not as though he wants to abandon everything now, not that he doesn't think he could HELP Ben, and Luke, and Leia.

It's just that every time he tries to help, things tend to go awry. "You can't hide forever," Obi-Wan points out. "And you shouldn't."

"Because it's my fault," Anakin replies, voice flat - like Vader. "I shouldn't pull away because this is my fault." Already he is flickering, his physical form shifting in and out of focus like a busted hologram.

Obi-Wan sighs, feeling the constant hum of Anakin's Force presence fading into the ether. "You're being selfish," he points out sharply. Because even in death, Anakin is still Anakin. He's gained wisdom since dying, but a single selfless act (and was it truly selfless, when it had freed him from a lifetime of pain?) did not change who he was underneath it all. It did not mean he was above trying to escape from discomfort, from emotional turmoil. "You owe it to your family to step in. He'll listen to you."

Anakin shakes his head. "It'll only make things worse," he snaps and for a brief moment his flickering presence looks scarred and battered. Obi-Wan sighs; they'd all been afraid of this, of the fluidity with which Anakin's Force presence flowed between Light and Dark. For years after becoming one with the Force, he'd remained firmly in the Light, happy to find redemption and forgiveness. As time went on, as Ben was born, was trained, was turned, he'd started to withdraw. Then Luke went into exile and while Obi-Wan still spoke with Anakin's son regularly, Anakin himself spent longer and longer in disembodied nothingness.

"The longer you're gone, the harder it will be to retain your physical form," Obi-Wan reminds him. Qui-Gon and Yoda are all but energy because of it, but Obi-Wan knows his and Anakin's work isn't done yet. There was good in Anakin, and there is good in Ben, whatever false idols he may follow and whatever he may call himself.

"Who said I WANTED to?!" Anakin shouts and his eyes are the color of sulfur. "If you want to fix my mess so badly, YOU go do it!" It's born from pain and confusion and deep guilt and shame, but it doesn't make Obi-Wan any more tolerant of the outburst.

"You two really do have so much in common," he comments, crossing arms over his chest. "It's no wonder where he inherited his ability to throw a childish tantrum." He narrows his eyes as Anakin huffs at him. "Anakin, your children can't handle this on their own. You may be their only hope. You know he'll listen to what you have to say." Especially if Anakin is still angry, is still presenting himself as Vader.

Anakin is seething, phasing between his normal self, a twisted reflection of his Darker persona, and a cloud of Force energy, teeth - when he's fully visible - gritted in frustration. "I CAN'T," he cries out, and the unadulterated SADNESS that floods through the Force nearly chokes Obi-Wan in its intensity.

"If you truly wish to put things right," Obi-Wan says carefully, reaching out in the Force for Anakin, pulling him back into the visible realm, keeping a metaphysical grip on him so he can't disappear entirely, "you must work through this pain." Obi-Wan knows better than anyone how much he is asking of his friend; Anakin has never been able to face his emotions head-on, and dying hadn't changed that. His grandson's actions, in his name no less, are a terrible reminder of what he was - and remains - capable of.

Anakin's mercurial eyes are shining, his jaw working as though he is holding back tears - and he probably is. "Why are you doing this to me?" he rasps, placing the blame once again squarely on Obi-Wan'a shoulders. Obi-Wan wonders why he isn't more used to the weight.

"You know why this is a task for you," he counters, gentling his tone.

Anakin Skywalker bows his head, his cloak materializing around him, providing some semblance of protection. "I know," he admits softly. "Will you stay with me? I'm afraid that I..." That he'll fail, that he won't be able to handle it alone, that the demons that still haunt him will take over again in the face of temptation. Obi-Wan knows Anakin gives himself too little credit, that he truly is stronger than he believes, but he also knows why the fear is still there.

"Of course I will," he says, wrapping his presence around and through Anakin's, weaving them together in the Force in a way they never could in life. He'll stay with Anakin now, and for eternity, and not even the Dark Side will stand in his way.


End file.
